Eating junk foods isn’t simply a matter of “garbage in, garbage out.” The natural cures approach encourages you to think about the effect this food has on your body. Junk food is bad for your body and your health because of the long-term and possibly irreversible damage it can do to your body as it passes through your system.
You can take a big first step toward wellness by eliminating from your diet the worst of the junk foods:
Sugar, especially in soda pop and fruit juices
Artificial sweeteners, including aspartame, saccharine, and sucralose
Trans fats (hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils)
Nonfat or low-fat foods — when manufacturers remove fat, they end up replacing it with sugar
Wheat, which is very high on the glycemic index, and gluten, which many people react to
Soy, which messes with your hormones and reduces absorption of key minerals, including calcium, magnesium, and zinc
Dairy, including cow milk, cheese, ice cream, and yogurt
Corn, including corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, and corn oil
Peanuts and peanut butter, which commonly trigger an immune response
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs), because scientists still aren’t clear on the potential harm these products can cause to the human body
The easiest and best way to avoid the items on this list is to focus on what you can eat: organic vegetables, fruits, seeds, and nuts. If you eat meat, stick with wild game, such as fish caught in the wild (not farmed), and pastured animal products (including eggs). If you need a starch, eat small portions of potatoes or brown rice only two or three times a week. This diet is very close to the Paleo Diet and includes the foods that the evolutionary process prepared people to eat.
